


Guns and Gadgets

by ashurbadaktu



Series: Chameleons and Circuits [4]
Category: Doctor Who, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-14
Updated: 2011-08-14
Packaged: 2017-10-22 14:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/239075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashurbadaktu/pseuds/ashurbadaktu





	Guns and Gadgets

Sometimes, Erik really missed normal, Earth guns.

He could feel those easily enough, after all. And they made a satisfying click when they were cocked, the kind of noise that was perfect for helping him pinpoint the item in question so he could throw it across the room or send it hurtling into his attacker’s face. These space weapons... all they did was hum faintly and the metal in them was minimal enough that he actually had to pay attention to sense them. It was deeply inconvenient.

“Can I help you?” he asked, since manners always seemed the best way to approach things, even if he knew he was probably going to end up shooting someone sooner or later.

“You can turn around” oh, a woman, and a human one from the sound of it. What was a human woman doing on this planet at this time?

 _Careful, Erik. She’s not exactly human._

 _Then what is she?_

 _...I don’t know._

That was what made him turn, more than anything else. Honestly, he was a little disappointed. She was a handsome enough lady, of course, with bright gold ringlets and curious, intelligent eyes... but the smugness that seemed to be a part of every ounce of her from head to toe made him frown. That part reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t be sure who, exactly. It was going to bother him, he knew it would.

“-ery good, young man, very good. Now... you’re going to tell me what you’re doing with this,” which was when she gestured to his friend, his form disguised in the shape of a tree-trunk for the humid forest, “and you’re going to do it right now.”

Which was when she was no longer amusing and Erik’s patience ran out. His hands were up, since he hadn’t wanted her to shoot him, but it took just a flick of his finger to send her gun flying out of her hands and another to launch her away from the ‘tree’ by her zippers and buttons and the steel toes in her boots.

“Actually,” he told her as he straightened his shirt and stretched his neck a little, “I’m going to bid you a good day and get back to what I was doing. I’d suggest you do the same.”

The woman in question was muttering to herself, something about ‘psionics’ and ‘the wrong century’, but Erik tried to ignore her even as he reached out and pulled the weapon she’d pointed at him into his hands with a thought.

“Don’t worry,” he told her calmly, “I’m not going to shoot you. You didn’t shoot me, after all, and I really should have noticed you. I just don’t want you sneaking up on me with this again.”

“How magnanimous of you...” and he could practically feel the sarcasm dripping on his hand.

“I try not to make enemies if I don’t have to. Especially as I don’t know why you’re here or who you’re here with. Care to share?”

“I’m here alone,” she told him plainly, watching him to see what his reaction might be.

Erik considered her words for a moment before nodding.

“I can’t say the same, but you probably would,” he told her as he used his power to scramble the innards of the weapon. Once he was sure it was unusable, he put it down again.

“I’m trying to track someone down,” she continued, “someone with a very unique... ship.”

Erik turned back to look at her, curious. After all, most ships were made of metal in some shape or form. And while he didn’t like to make enemies, he did like to have people who owed him. Something this simple shouldn’t take too much time away from what he was trying to do, it would get this woman out of his hair and hopefully never trying to shoot him again, and there might be something in it for him.

 _Erik, there’s no need to justify being kind._

 _I’m not kind._

 _Yes, yes, you’re not sweet either._

 _You’re mocking me._

 _Only a little._

“What does this ‘ship’ look like? I’m... particularly skilled at finding things. And not opposed to helping you now that I’m not at gunpoint.”

She eyed him as she dusted herself off and went to retrieve her gun. While most of what he’d done was internal, she knew almost instantly that her weapon would no longer work and gave him a dark look for it that he didn’t mind in the least.

“It’s a big blue box, the only one in the universe. I haven’t seen it here, but I’ve traced it’s trail to--”

Erik’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head and he couldn’t help rubbing at his face as she continued blathering on about how she’d wrongly followed Erik through the cosmos looking for that damn blasted idiot in the bowtie.

“You’re not going to find a blue box,” he said with a grunt, adjusting the pack on his shoulder; _he_ had just been planning to find a nice place to have a picnic and somehow, this woman had found him on the odd third Sunday when he wasn’t off trying to stop horrible people across time and space which, he reflected ruefully, was just his luck.

She looked as if she wanted to draw her gun again. “How do you know that?”

“Because,” now was when it was almost certainly going to get even more irritating, “you didn’t follow his trail. You followed mine.”

Her eyes were very wide now.

“What do you mean? Where is he? Did you-- if you harmed him, I won’t need this blasted thing.”

Erik breathed in and out and didn’t make anything metal knock her out so he could go along his way.

 _I’m sure we can find another nice place for lunch, Erik. The nice thing about traveling through time_ and _space is that you never miss supper._

“I didn’t do anything to your Doctor. But he doesn’t have the only TARDIS in existence, no matter what you’ve heard. My friend and I have been traveling together since I was fifteen or so.”

The woman stared at him, wide eyed and amazed, before she let out a loud, happy laugh.

“Oh my God, that’s _extraordinary_! I knew it was Gallifreyan but I never imagined! And you’re human, aren’t you? Not a Time Lord at all. Just a human--”

Erik’s back was stiff as he held back a growl.

“No. Not _human_.”

The laughter calmed as she glanced sideways at Erik.

“I see. My gun?”

A grunt was her answer; he wasn’t going to play show and tell until he was sure of her.

“Not much of a talker, are you?”

 _Well, no, but then we don’t really talk, do we?_

 _It’s none of her business anyway. Any ideas on how to make her go away?_

 _Now, now, don’t be hasty. We might have an opportunity here. Remember Jack? Why don’t you ask her why she was looking for him?_

“Why were you looking for him?” Erik answered, not particularly in the mood to play games with the strange woman who introduced herself by holding him at gunpoint.

“Oh, it’s a hobby of mine. But I must admit that you present something almost more interesting. A... non-Time Lord with a TARDIS. How does that work, exactly?”

 _They really wouldn’t think this was such an oddity if they’d met more Time Lords._

Erik fought valiantly not to snicker.

“Why do you keep doing that?” came her question, almost out of nowhere. “And you still didn’t answer my question.”

“Doing what?”

“Staring off. I’ve seen you do it several times now. Is it something to do with your psionic abilities?”

Erik frowned and shook his head. He didn’t want to share what he could do with this woman, or anyone really. His friend, and what they shared, was just that. His. And after so much had been taken from him, he wasn’t about to give up any of it easily.

“Ah. Secrets. I suppose I would be a bit hypocritical if I didn’t respect that. But--”

“I don’t.”

The woman blinked.

“You don’t what, dear?”

“I don’t fly the TARDIS. He flies himself. I go where he takes me. That's how it works.”

Which was when the woman smiled, no, _smirked_ and slung her weapon into it’s holster.

“I think I might be able to do something about that. _If_ you’d be willing to give me a lift.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. Her? She wasn’t-- He’d said--

 _I’ll tell you if she’s telling you nonsense, but it couldn’t hurt. It might even be nice for you to learn how to fly me. There’s nothing like getting piloted by someone who knows what they’re doing..._

Which was the only reason Erik said

“Just one ride?”

“Of course, sweetie.”

“And your name?” It was only a question in the loosest sense of the word. He wasn’t letting her near his friend (or _nearer_ ) without knowing who she was. The name might not mean anything to him, but he had at least one person he could check with now. And information was power.

“Professor River Song, archeologist. As much of a pleasure as it ever is.”

A professor. Well, then. Who better to teach him than that? At least she wasn’t a Time Lord anyway.

“Erik. Follow me and I’ll take you in.”

“Brilliant.”


End file.
